This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 483. 10/18/26 Ron Filipkowski Oct 18 … AP: “Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. … Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order, the latest in a series of steps that the president has taken drawing the US closer to Vladimir Putin. Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices in the US that are roiling the midterm elections on Nov. 3: Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL): “I think it’s clear Russia is the aggressor, and we’ve got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia. So it’s not the first thing I would be doing.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): “Beyond irresponsible. What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand? It’s unconscionable that this admin is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “Lindsey would be appalled.” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “By giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Trump is thumbing his nose at Congress and enabling Putin to continue his war of aggression.” … Zelenskyy posted: “Sanctions relief will continue. I think the diesel deal and the move regarding the Lindsey Graham Act are not the end of it. Unfortunately. Shortly before the tragedy, Lindsey was in Ukraine. He always supported us very strongly and pushed for as much assistance to Ukraine as possible. It’s difficult without him, I’ll be honest. I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me. And it definitely helps only the Russians. It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people. This certainly does not stop the war.” … Trump responded: “Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the US. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World. Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did.” … AP reporter Meg Kinnard asked Sen. Darlene Graham for her reaction to Trump lifting sanctions against Russia despite the sanctions bill named after her brother: “The sanctions bill was one of the tools given to Trump to end the war. It’s up to him whether he chooses to use it. I look forward to talking with him next week about this.” … Very courageous and principled stand. … Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, ballroom, etc. I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus.” … Marco Rubio was asked about Starshield at a press gaggle: “It’s not, at this moment, available to Ukraine. But it’s under conversation. It’s under discussion right now. Q - Did the US have anything to do with it not working in Ukraine at the moment? Zelenskyy said it was the US. Rubio: No. I’m not sure Zelenskyy knows what he’s talking about. We had nothing to do with it. Nobody ordered Starlink speed to be slowed down.” … Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “Innocent civilians are dying in Ukraine because of Trump/Musk and Rubio treats it like it’s a special at Applebee’s that has run out.” … Financial Times war correspondent Christopher Miller: “It’s been a week and Ukraine still has no answers from the Trump admin nor SpaceX about why the Starlink and Starshield systems have been restricted and who ordered the speed limits. The WH and SpaceX each claim it’s the other who’s responsible. Rubio says nobody in the US is responsible.” … Univ of CA professor Branislav Slantchev: “Either Marco just admitted that the US govt does not control Starshield and we are at the mercy of a ketamine junkie’s whims or that the govt does not control what the Pentagon does or that Marco is pathetically out of the decision loop altogether. Embarrassing.” Q: “There’s a criticism that we’re basically giving Putin something for nothing. We’re giving Putin these freebies. What’s your response? Rubio: That diesel is going to be sold one way or the other. The diesel that Putin was going to sell, they were going to make it available to the global market one way or the other. The only difference is how much of it the US was going to get.” … Slantchev: “Marco has completely lost whatever modicum of integrity he ever had, just as he himself predicted that he would, by working for Trump. The reporter should have reminded him that Russia’s ability to sell that gas - which he pretends is inevitable - depends on how our govt enforces the sanctions. So he basically said that because Trump isn’t enforcing sanctions, the sale was going to happen, which is why we might as well not enforce the sanctions. What a fucking weasel.” … Zelenskyy on Meet the Press: Q - “Who do you think is to blame for the disruption to the Starlink and Starshield services? Zelenskyy: Of course the message came from the American govt. Q - Has the system been fully restored? Zelenskyy: No, no. We have limitations.” “If the US supports Putin, it’s unbelievable, it’s a tragedy. It’s a historic mistake. If US officially takes the side of Russia, of course we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand.” On Trump: “I hope that he will change his decisions, because I think it’s all mistakes. It will not help us and it will not help the US. But it’s not my choice. And I hope he will change his attitude to Putin - we can’t compare me and Putin. He’s the aggressor.” … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was on next: Q - Zelenskyy just said he believes the US govt slowed Starlink. Can you definitely say no one in the Trump admin ordered restrictions? Bessent: Trump and Rubio have categorically said that no one in the Trump admin did that. Zelenskyy should be very careful about making reckless statements like that.” … NYT: “A key element in the Trump admin’s broad plan for securing peace in Ukraine is a proposal that would turn years of American energy policy upside-down. Europe, the US pitch goes, should resume buying more Russian gas - a move that would be an economic boon for Moscow and give it renewed influence in the region. … Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have brought up the idea in talks with Ukrainian and European officials, including with Zelensky in Kyiv last month. To help entice Russia to end the war in Ukraine, the Americans have argued, Ukraine should consider restarting pipelines that used to carry Russian natural gas to Europe. … European officials in the talks have recoiled at the idea, which would undo the EU’s years of efforts to rid itself of Russian gas. But Trump officials see Russian gas exports as a potential part of a peace settlement.” … Andy McCarthy, editor of the conservative National Review in a scathing OpEd: “We’re now well into Putin’s third decade as Russia’s murderous dictator. And Trump is giving him aid and comfort. Congress has become a laggard even when it is in session. In a properly functioning republic, there would be immediate hearings about this week’s shocking escalation of the Trump–Putin alliance. Since the start of Trump’s second term, it has been excruciating to watch America’s president blame the victim, our ally Ukraine, for Putin’s war of aggression. Reagan and Poland this is not. As Ukraine fights for its survival against Moscow’s would-be hegemon, today’s president hectors it to surrender territory that Putin has been unable to take on the battlefield after 4 years of barbarism. Trump claims to want peace, but his fine print consistently spells out Russia’s terms. Regardless of the president’s personal interest, the vital American interest stems from Russia’s being America’s enemy, quite apart from being Ukraine’s enemy. Trump has sided with the totalitarian aggressor over the allied European democracy upon which it preys. This week, in lunatic public statements, the president again blamed Ukraine for the war and gratuitously insulted Zelenskyy (in stark contrast to Trump’s unconcealed admiration for Putin). Trump’s emissaries revived their pressure on Ukraine to settle the conflict by surrendering Ukrainian territory, and threatened that the admin would withhold crucial intelligence that Ukraine needs for its self-defense. This week, Ukraine was horrified to learn, without warning, that Starshield had been restricted. Right at the moment Trump was warning Zelenskyy not to attack Russian refineries, the Starshield settings were somehow altered, such that the system could not track objects traveling at speeds greater than about 100 miles per hour - woefully inadequate to detect Russian aerial assaults. Coincidentally, while the system was compromised, Putin’s forces conducted some of the most intensive aerial attacks against Ukrainian territory since the war began, firing 39 ballistic missiles and 128 Shahed drones, mainly at the greater Kyiv and Kharkiv areas. At least 9 civilians were killed, and many others wounded. 26 power facilities and 4 oil and gas facilities were damaged. More than 600,000 people lost power in the capital. If we allow common sense to enter the equation, too many dark signs point in the direction of an American admin - at the very moment it was seeking Ukraine’s capitulation and threatening to leave it defenseless by denying intelligence - taking conscious action that left Ukraine exposed to an intense attack, which Russia just happens to have conducted right at the perfect time. This is dark. It demands answers. Now.” … Energy Secretary Chris Wright on CNN: Q - “You said back in March when the war with Iran first began that gas prices would be lower within weeks, not months, and here we are several months later with the midterm elections two weeks away. Americans are still facing record prices at the pump. Has the admin let Americans down? Wright: No, we haven’t. Gas prices did come down. They’ve gone down the last few weeks.” “The president is putting pressure on that’s a step forward for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Q - So now the US stance is to pressure Ukraine, not Russia? Wright: Oh, this is pressuring Russia. Russia does not have diesel to export. The only way they can get diesel to export is to turn down the conflict with Ukraine. This is quite innovative, actually.” … Possibly the most ridiculous argument yet on this - that it somehow benefits Ukraine. … The Telegraph: “China is supporting the Iran-backed Houthis as a way to pressure the US. The militant group is seeking to build a medium-range ballistic missile that, according to a research report, would be made with Chinese components. The Houthis are seeking to manufacture at least part of the Iranian Khaibar Shekan series of ballistic missiles. … A research group has identified custom-made missile components, as well as raw materials, tools and testing equipment, in recent shipments intended for the Houthis, and has also found these components alongside shipping documents that list a Chinese supplier. … The Houthis have increasingly sought to boost domestic production, but these latest revelations suggest a significant leap in their abilities, as only a few countries in the world have the expertise to produce missiles with such range. This also suggests an increasing independence from Iran, their main backer. … In fact, Chinese companies represent the largest source of goods seized from shipments bound for the Houthis, according to UN reports and research by arms experts.” … But Trump says this isn’t happening because his good friend President Xi told him that it wasn’t and Trump said Xi would never lie to him because he respects him too much. … Financial Times: 24 ships were hit in the two weeks prior to 11 October, the most intense period of attacks in the entirety of the war. It is almost double the second worst period, when in the first two weeks of the war in March, 13 ships were hit. … Institute for the Study of War: “Iran may be developing its anti-ship missile capabilities to improve its ability to target vessels.” … The attacks have become more frequent, more geographically dispersed and more diverse in their tactics. Alongside missile and drone strikes, there are growing concerns about the use of mines, small boats for reconnaissance and targeting, and other methods designed to compensate for damaged surveillance and radar capabilities. … Iran analyst Danny Citrinowicz: “Iran is entering a new and intensive phase of military buildup, with the effort to restore and expand its ballistic missile capabilities at its core. The choice of Mehrdad Akhlaqi as Iran’s new Minister of Defense, who has significant experience in producing solid-fuel missiles, is no coincidence. It reflects the strategic direction Tehran is heading toward: a significant expansion of the missile array, acceleration of production rates, and strengthening the ability to conduct prolonged military campaigns. “It is clear that Tehran has no intention of stopping. On the contrary, it is drawing lessons from the recent campaigns, accelerating its force buildup, and seeking to expand its missile capabilities, based on the understanding that they constitute a central component in its deterrence and response capabilities against Israel and the US.” … New NBC poll: 29% say US is on the right track, 71% say wrong track. 82% say their finances are the same or worse today than one year ago, 18% say they’re better. 67% say the price of gas has caused them problems. Trump approval rating: 34% … Trump issue approval: 27% on cost of living 29% on Iran war 33% on AI 43% on border/immigration … Will Trump deliver on his promise of $5,000 checks: Yes - 14% No - 71% … Which party do you trust more to handle the following issues? 🔵Healthcare: D+23 🔵Cost of Living: D+14 🔵Inflation: D+14 🔵Education: D+14 🔵Iran: D+11 🔵Corruption: D+9 🔵Economy: D+9 🔵Transgender Issues: D+9 🔵Taxes: D+7 🔵Immigration: D+2 … Speaker Mike Johnson was asked by Spectrum about the bleak poll numbers for Republicans. He said it is a conspiracy between Democrats and the media: “I believe there’s a concerted effort between Democrats and the mainstream media that’s openly biased in their favor to discourage the Republican side.” Reminder that tomorrow is the Ask the Editor show where I choose 5 of your questions/topics to answer on the podcast. Please submit a question for the show or just a topic you want me to talk more about in the comments below. Thank you to everyone who watches, reads, shares and subscribes to our work. It is only possible because of your support. We have made all of our content from now until the election available to free subscribers. If you missed Friday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Trump rally in KY this weekend: “I called Google, Google Maps. See, Google wouldn’t have taken my call in the first term, now they kiss my ass.” “Why shouldn’t Paxton win? The other guy is a freak. He’s a vegetarian. I was calling it vaygan. I know nothing about that. I don’t like eating a piece of celery for dinner.” “The stock market means a lot, you know. They say I always use the stock market. Well, actually I do when it’s good. If it’s bad, I don’t use it. If it has a bad day, I never talk about it.” On fired federal workers: “Their wife likes them much more. They get much more turned on. They become almost violent in their love for their husband because they make more money now.” “Remember Biden? He said, ‘It’s great to be in FL’ when he was in Maine. He’s got palm trees in the video. Palm trees all over the place. He was in Maine.” … CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale: “This Biden thing never happened. There was a hoax viral video in 2020 in which someone edited a sign to make it look like Biden was in FL when he greeted MN. But the actual sign said MN.” “Mexico paid for the wall. I called the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. That’s a form of payment.” “Every country that’s using windmills has gone bankrupt.” “I do not want to lose $90 billion for the privilege of allowing Canada to have a healthcare system and other things that they shouldn’t have. They spend our money!” … That received a fact-check community note on X: “The statement in the video misstates the US-Canada trade deficit as a $90B loss subsidizing healthcare; the goods and services deficit was $27B in 2025 and stems mainly from US purchases of Canadian oil while Canada’s system is funded by its own taxes.” “I like people that like me. I just like it, I can’t help. It’s a character flaw. I mean, I’ve had a couple of people-really horrible human beings, horrible, horrible, terrible people-but I heard through the grapevine they really liked me a lot, so I like them too.” On. Sen. John Husted: “I stood right over here and I examined his ass. I never did that. No, I never did that with a man before. I examined his ass. Then I looked at his shoulders, and hands and feet. And I looked at his jawline. I patted him on the shoulder and he was like a piece of steel. My hand is still recovering. And he’s picked up 9 or 10 points in the polls since I talked about that.” … NYT: “The message delivered by a president during a high-stakes midterm campaign can be critical. As Trump travels the country ahead of this year’s elections, he might focus on selling Americans on how he will bring the Iran war to a close, or control rising prices. … But in a puzzling approach, at some recent rallies he has instead started his often-meandering remarks by effusing about the physical appearances of other men. Trump has long marveled at the physical appearance of some men, sometimes gravitating to a favored phrase to describe men whose looks he appreciates: straight from ‘central casting.’ Lately Trump has been particularly quick to gush about male bodies.” … Sen. Jon Ossoff at a joint campaign event with Democratic nominee for GA governor Keisha Lance Bottoms: “Maybe you saw Trump was in Dalton yesterday—a crowd smaller than this one endured two hours of senile babbling while the price of oil hit its 5-month high.” “I refuse to leave my girls a world as dark and dangerous and cruel as this one threatens to become. I refuse to accept that they will grow up with artificial friends and teachers in a society where the sick die not because there’s no cure, but because they have no money—where we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world a thousandfold but we still refuse to guarantee healthcare for every citizen. When Eva’s old enough to ask me why I let this happen. I’m determined to answer truthfully that I didn’t.” “Tech titans dig bunkers while warning us the AI they are creating risks human extinction. Meanwhile, our Congress debates youth sports. And the president builds a ballroom. An ancient establishment barely capable of email sleepwalks into a tech revolution.” “Now maybe you saw Trump so desperate he’s begging Putin for diesel. At the very same time, the WH is brokering the sale of billions in Russian energy assets to people who fund the Trump family and the Trump campaign. The president’s son-in-law and the president’s business partner are brokering the sale of Russian oil fields to the first family’s friends. The same friends who have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump family businesses.” “At a rally, the president egged on supporters who assaulted a woman demanding the release of the Epstein files. Because if you can count on one thing about this WH, it’s their tireless commitments to war, inflation, and covering up sex trafficking. … Keisha Lance Bottoms: “Just yesterday, I met with a woman who owns a mortuary, and she even told me that the prices of caskets have gone up. Trump is wreaking havoc for the living and the dead.” “Slick Rick Jackson is a billionaire who lives in the 18th largest home in America. It is complete with a diner, a golf course, and 20 bathrooms. And he wonders how his plumber can afford to drive a Mercedes. There’s a clear contrast on the ballot this year, GA. A man who looks out for himself. Or a woman who works for you.” … Reuters: “Trump is blaming senior aides and political operatives for a faltering midterm strategy, questioning campaign spending, faulting redistricting and second-guessing candidate choices as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress. … Much of the friction has centered on James Blair, the longtime aide who runs Trump’s super PAC MAGA Inc., and WH chief of staff Susie Wiles, who until now had largely escaped criticism. Trump has faulted Blair’s handling of campaign funds, while some WH officials and allies have questioned Wiles’ oversight of the political operation. … As Trump questions why campaign spending has failed to improve Republican polling numbers, his advisers are also blaming one another. Wiles has pointed to Blair, while Blair has faulted the WH legislative affairs team.” … Trump insider source: “What’s really happening is a circular firing squad.” … RawStory: “A planned campaign stop featuring Trump in a crucial swing state fell apart while Republican candidates debated whether to show up. Trump’s team had been mapping out a MI visit, possibly on the western side of the state, when GOP candidates across the ballot found themselves unsure whether they should be seen with the president. The candidates worried about being tied to Trump’s tariffs, which have battered MI, and to high fuel prices linked to the war with Iran. … Trump officials ultimately scrapped the event and said the president would return later in the month. The episode reflects a broader GOP reluctance to embrace Trump as the midterms close in. Democratic candidates and their allies have poured $145 million into general election ads mentioning the president, compared with just $8 million from Republicans. Two years ago, GOP candidates spent $62 million on ads mentioning him.” … One OH-based Republican operative: “This is a historically unpopular president. We all agree with that, and so it’s kind of hard to attach yourself on the airways, I think, too closely to him.” … Maine Democratic senate nominee Troy Jackson on CNN: Q - “There was a protester during your debate with Susan Collins. She responded by saying ‘this must be a Troy Jackson supporter’ and you told the senator ‘shut up.’ Do you regret saying that? Jackson: No. I’m not going to be talked down to by Sen. Collins. I’m not going to apologize for that, no.” … Politico: “Retiring NV Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said he won’t vote for the Trump-endorsed GOP candidate vying to replace him amid a string of stolen valor and other accusations - and warned that the once-safe Republican seat Trump won by 14 points is at risk of flipping blue on Election Day. Amodei said in an interview he would ‘absolutely not’ vote for businessperson David Flippo in NV’s 2nd District.” … Amodei: “I think the seat’s at risk. You say, well, the president endorsed him. It’s like, well whoever was advising the president on, ‘Hey, this would be a good place for you to go ahead and weigh in,’ gave him awful advice. The vetting process - quote unquote - must have been nearly non-existent.” … Amodei specifically cited a series of allegations against Flippo as disqualifying, for reportedly lying about his military service and also failing to file financial disclosures on time: “It’s just one thing after another. The stolen valor accusations - all that.” Flippo claims exaggerations about his military service on campaign materials were mistakes by his staff. … Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) on MS NOW: Q - “You have been campaigning for Democrats in deep red states like SC and MS. Do you think Dems really have a chance in those states or are you just trying to keep it competitive? Warnock: Democrats can win in these states. I worry, to be very honest, that Democrats are missing a real opportunity to invest in a serious and sustained way in the South. If we would just lean in and stay in through the election and after the election, the kind of victory you saw us achieve here in GA, it is achievable in a place like MS.” … Trump posted: “I am pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior, under the auspices of Secretary Doug Burgum, and in conjunction with famed Golf Course Architect, Tom Fazio, has developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links. When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the US Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup.” … Judge Ana Reyes took the highly unusual move of issuing an order on a Sunday responding to Trump’s post: … The activist group Save East Potomac: “This proposed plan is absolutely unacceptable. Here’s what the plan actually does: 36 holes of public golf cut to 18. No more mini golf. No more park. More running / cycling road. No more playground. No more introductory course. Nobody has said a word about the cherry blossoms. Who is this actually for? Not the kid learning to golf. Not the family in a walk. Not the birders. This was never about the public. It’s for the elitists who want a private showcase, and one man’s ego.” … Veteran DC reporter Jamie Dupree: “For those of you not from DC - this means runners, bicyclists, families, sightseers would all be displaced from Hains Point - so that a high-end golf course could be built minutes from the US Capitol and WH.” … Democratic nominee for Senate in MI Abdul El-Sayed at a CNN town hall: Q: “Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood? El-Sayed: Yes. Why are you asking the question? Do you assume that I wouldn’t? Q: Yes, because I have not heard you disavow them yet. El-Sayed: Have you disavowed them? I have not heard you disavow them yet.” … It was later learned that the “citizen” who asked this question was a Republican operative plant. … El-Sayed on MS NOW: Q - “You get a whole lot of questions about the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism and radical Islamism and all this kind of stuff. El-Sayed: The whole reason this question is being asked is to insinuate that somehow I have dual loyalties. When JFK ran for president, he was asked about whether or not his allegiance would be to the Constitution or to the Pope, because he would have been the first Catholic president.” … El-Sayed’s opponent Mike Rogers had this leaked audio come out from a campaign event: “I don’t want to go to bed at 2 AM a winner and wake up at 4 AM a loser. I’m kind of done with that. Let’s put retired or off-duty police officers as our poll watchers in Detroit. Because, go ahead, try to intimidate them, please.” … JD Vance did a town hall with CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil: After Vance blamed Biden for gas prices, Dokoupil: “We are talking about the increase in gas prices since you guys took office. It’s almost been 2 years. At a certain point it become your economy not Biden’s. Also back in March, right here in MI, you said it was just a temporary blip. How long is temporary? Vance: When this conflict is over, we are going to see gas prices come down.” Q - “There’s a big difference between what the president says on the campaign trail and what you’re now now. He says it’s an A+ economy. You say it’s going to take time. Which is it? Vance: I think what we’re doing is we’re turning ship around. We can do more and do better.” Q - “A poll found that corruption was the #1 issue on voters’ minds, even more than gas prices. Have you seen anything inside the WH when it comes to corruption that makes you squeamish? Vance: I’ve never seen anything like that from the president.” Q - “The president is making a lot of money on crypto. His own IRS has barred itself from looking into his tax returns. That’s why people are concerned. But you say you’ve seen no evidence of corruption. Vance: I make those judgments based on the facts and not a random news media report. While DC is a corrupt town, I have not seen a single shred of evidence that he participates in corruption. I’ve not once seen evidence that Trump has enriched himself in office.” … Unbelievable. If you missed it, on Labor Day weekend I published a list of the 75 most corrupt things Trump has done to personally enrich himself in the first 8 months of 2026. You can find that here. 75 things in 8 months. But Vance claims he is unaware of any of it. Q from participant who voted for Trump because she felt the border was not secure under Biden but disagrees with Trump’s handling of deportations: “Why are you scapegoating immigrants for problems that you are supposed to be solving? Vance: To the extent my rhetoric has been imperfect, that’s on me.” Vance made excuses for white nationalists: “When you demonize a guy because he’s white, some people will get radicalized into some very dangerous ideas.” Q - “My wife gave her life in March 2026. Although the Iranian drone was the weapon that killed my wife, there were a lot of mistakes and fundamental failures that led up to that. There’s a failure in the leadership. I want to know how this admin is going to hold those leaders accountable for the deaths of these soldiers. Vance: When you talk about failures on the part of our admin, I want to know about that stuff. This is literally the first time I’ve heard of it and I want to fix that stuff.” … It has been widely reported by dozens of media outlets since this attack in March about the many failures to anticipate that attack or protect the 6 soldiers who were killed and many more injured. The failures are obvious, Pete Hegseth covered them up, and nobody is held accountable. Vance knows this. … No Kings rallies were held this weekend across the country: Organizer Ash-Lee Henderson: “When we started No Kings, they said all we did was protest. And so we pivoted to talking about voting early. And then folks said, ‘Well, why aren’t you just protesting?’ The way y’all taught me to do this resistance thing, was that if our people are hurt, we marching. And then guess what? When it’s election season, guess what we do? Vote.” Organizer Leah Greenberg: “Now, No Kings is a deceptively simple statement. It is a statement that in America, power lies in the hands of the people, and we express our power at the ballot box. It’s our right. Nobody knows better than Atlanta. Nobody knows better than the folks here that that right was never given by the powerful. It was demanded by generations of brilliant, dedicated, fearless organizers who put their lives and their freedom on the line to demand this nation live up to its promises and secure the right to vote.” … Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): “Unacceptable. Meta took down the No Kings Instagram today and kept it offline for well over an hour. Censoring free speech to appease Trump? We the people deserve answers, but regardless, we will not be silenced.” … NYT: “The WH investigation into a dispute between two prominent Trump supporters, Richard Grenell and Alina Habba Mildon, centers on a bank transfer from the Congo to a TX defense company. Habba Mildon stormed into the Oval Office last week accusing Grenell of siphoning millions of dollars from a business transaction in 2025 organized by a Turkish investor who later became her husband. … Part of the money, she claimed, was meant to be set aside for a donation to the Kennedy Center but was never delivered to the institution. Grenell ran the Kennedy Center at the time. Habba Mildon and Grenell had once been close friends but have fallen out in recent months over Mr. Mildon’s business dealings. … Mrs. Mildon initially told WH officials that the money, $17.6 million, came from her now-husband ,Turhan Mildon. The initial set of documents that her husband’s lawyer submitted to the WH, however, redacted the name of the sender. The WH later learned that the transfer was made from a bank account affiliated with the Congolese govt. … Mildon has previously acknowledged that he serves as an adviser to the Congolese president and holds a diplomatic passport of the country. Mildon also has extensive business holdings in Venezuela and has discussed his role in that country with Grenell. At the time of the bank transfer, Grenell was serving as Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela. … The transfer was sent last year to TX-AT, a TX security and defense firm. Grenell previously acknowledged consulting for the firm in 2024.” … WaPo: “Lawyers for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused federal authorities of ignoring key restrictions that a judge placed on the search of the lawmaker’s DC residence this week and demanded the immediate return of all property seized from the home. In a letter sent to DOJ, attorneys Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz condemned the investigation into Omar’s immigration history as a politically motivated attack. … They also alleged that investigators did not follow specific instructions that a US magistrate judge imposed on how the search should be carried out as they descended upon Omar’s residence. … Among the restrictions the attorneys said agents did not follow were provisions requiring investigators to provide Omar’s lawyers with a copy of the warrant and to contact the House Office of General Counsel before carrying out the search. That would have given Omar the chance to consult with congressional attorneys on any legislative work product that might have been exempt from federal seizure.” … WaPo: “Katie Zacharia, who was ousted as WH press secretary on Friday, posted two photos that appear to have been digitally modified to conceal an image on Trump’s Oval Office desk. Zacharia on Friday night posted a photo with the president in which a blurred image can be seen atop a stack of blue guidebooks on the desk. … Local advocacy groups said that the image appeared to be East Potomac Park, where Trump wants to make major changes to a federally owned golf course - an initiative that is the subject of a lawsuit. One important issue in the legal proceedings is whether the admin has already made significant decisions about the scope and timeline of its East Potomac project. … After National Park Service crews cut down hundreds of trees in the park on Oct. 10, a federal judge sharply rebuked the admin, ordered a halt to tree removal and demanded that officials explain who gave the order. A hearing in the case is set for Monday.”